Research, education and extension are integral parts of any Higher Educational Institute. The reputation of any Institute depends on quality of research and education. Research publications carry substantial weight in the faculty selection, promotions, increment and academic performance index (API) as advised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Good API scores are required for career advancement and promotions. Many Universities have mandatory provision for certain number of publications before submitting PhD thesis and to get recognition as PhD guide.
Especially in India, explosion of spurious journals and fraud/ unreliable indexing agencies has become a worrisome phenomenon. Many private colleges and Universities have started in-house journals. It is noteworthy that Indian academic Societies and Academies are coming forward to take responsibility in dissemination of new research findings through their quality journals in the present outburst of unethical commercial publishers.
Ethics, after all, are rules or principles that help guide behaviour for the individual and society to flourish. Identifying harm to the individual and society enhances the ethical claim.
Plagiarism is the “wrongful appropriation” and “stealing and publication” of another author’s “language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions” and the representation of them as one’s own original work. Plagiarism is considered academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic ethics.
For higher education institutions, plagiarism has become a rapidly-growing concern for their academic reputations. Plagiarism-free writing is no accident, but it requires skills and knowledge that many teachers simply do not have and to which they do not have ready access. Placing focus on helping them acquire these skills will lead to great benefits for educational institutions.
Recent incidences have reiterated that any compromise in ethics, integrity and academic misconduct even by a single individual can have serious reparations and can lead to collateral damage causing risk to reputation of the entire institution.
The desperation to publish might have adverse effects on quality of publications, temptation to find short cuts and easy ways to publish, which in turn can compromise publication ethics. The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as a forum of editors and publishers of peer review journals promotes integrity in research publications.
COPE guidelines for authors are more relevant, which stress ethical and responsible research, compliance to all relevant legislation, presenting results clearly, honestly, and without plagiarism, fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation. Bogus authorship is another serious issue.
Recent incidences have reiterated that any compromise in ethics, integrity and academic misconduct even by a single individual can have serious reparations and can lead to collateral damage causing risk to reputation of the entire institution.
Many predatory commercial journals aggressively advertise and assure publication of any manuscript at cost. Most such Journals are from natural, applied and biomedical sciences, pharmacy, technology, and engineering and management disciplines, where there is huge demand.
The problem of publication ethics and predatory journals is very serious and is a global phenomenon. Institutes may have to come out with its own guidelines. It is a fact that good research publication is not sufficient. The publisher / journal should be indexed in globally accepted databases, should preferably be members of reputed bodies like COPE and must follow publication ethics in a transparent manner where all true, correct and vital information is available on the journal website.
At present, increasing number of publications in most Indian Universities are coming out of compulsion. This could be for selection, increments, career advancement, assessments or for seeking higher qualifications like MPhil/ PhD. This can lead to desperation to publish and temptation to explore short cuts and easy ways. It is necessary for Universities to change present system of number driven assessment and give more emphasis on quality of papers than mere quantity of papers. Certain Institutes of national importance do not require any specified number of publications before submitting a PhD thesis. However, the rigorous training, continuous assessment, able mentorship and institutional culture empower research students to perform with best capabilities where quality publications naturally emerge.
We need to gradually evolve conducive environments to nurture a culture of reading, thinking, questioning, inquisitiveness, enquiry, investigation and innovation where high-quality research becomes a pleasure.